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October 13, 2013

May Maxwell, who was among the first group of Western
pilgrims to visit ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Akka in 1898-99, has left a brief
description of a touching and heart-warming incident. Munirih Khanum, the wife
of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, whom she refers to as Holy Mother, was consoling a young
American woman who was overcome by feelings of sadness because her parents
had not accepted the Baha’i Faith:

On one occasion one of the American believers was distraught
and crying and said to the Holy Mother that she felt like an orphan because her
parents did not believe. The wife of our Master took the girl in her arms, laid
her head on her breast and told her that she was now her mother; therefore she
should be comforted. Then she took her into the presence of the Master and sitting
on the floor before Him in the most natural manner, still holding the girl
close to her loving heart, told Him all. (May
Maxwell, ‘An Early Pilgrimage’)